Life Less Ordinary
by Chibi Horsewoman
Summary: The writers of Winx Club never explained why Stella's parents divorced so I decided to make a story revolving around the idea that Radius had an affair and Luna found out. Of course that's only part of the story the rest you'll have to read yourself. This is set during the 2nd season and sometimes overlaps with Rogue Scholar's Sapphire Flames.
1. Instructions Not Included

**Life Less Ordinary **

**Note: This story takes place in the second season, so the Winx are in their second year at Alfea, and mine and Rogue Scholar's characters are in their first year at Cloud Tower. I hope that clears up some confusion.**

**Disclaimer: Winx Club is owned by a lot of people who aren't me including RAI and Viacom. If I owned Winx Club, do you seriously think I'd be writing fan fiction? I also don't own Wicked, but I can't remember who does at the moment. Oh yes, and any similarities between my characters and anyone living or dead is purely coincidental. **

**Dedication: Rogue Scholar my Winx Club partner in crime, my Beta Robert Teague for making me do the rough draft over and Angel, my friend who probably shook her head while being asked to help with the opening of the first chapter.**

**Chapter One: Instructions not Included**

Blythe was happily humming along (albeit a bit off-key) to her favourite country song while going about ten kilometers over the speed limit on the back way to her small village. She was desperately trying to forget the scene at her soon-to-be former part-time job; and listening to Northern Girl by Terry Clark while the wind blew through her light brown hair was the perfect relief. Blythe was a normal girl (or so she wished to believe despite small nudges in the other direction for the past three weeks), not some spaz case who had dropped the new order of Canucks jerseys on her fellow co-worker after hearing that aforementioned co-worker had been cheating on her boyfriend while he was up at Ft. St. John doing seismic- that is, making seismic waves to detect deposits of oil, water, or minerals in the ground- for an out-of-province company. It didn't help that said boyfriend was one of Blythe's close friends, and none of their friends had trusted that co-worker since the guy had left.

Blythe couldn't figure out how that box had fallen since it was on the third rack from the top, nudge checked, and Blythe had only started climbing the ladder getting ready to move it so it could be unpacked. Somehow right after Elaina had mentioned that she was seeing a new guy named Mick, or Mack, or who gives a rat's ass, behind her boyfriend Daniel's back, the box Blythe was trying to get went flying onto the black-haired girl's head. It didn't matter how much she'd apologized, Elaina claimed she'd done it on purpose since Daniel and Blythe were friends. Adding that incident to the shoe incidents and the mannequin stuck on a_ thousand dollar _mountain bike, and Blythe's manager decided to give her a week off with pay.

"Call it the first half of your mandatory two week holiday." Her manager had said with a head shake and a smile. "You've been working since school let out, and it's mid-August."

Blythe had agreed and now she found herself pulling into the drive of the small house just outside of town she shared with her aunt. Pulling her beat-up blue truck with the stylish green "L" magnet indicating her still-new license status to all drivers behind her aunt Renee's shinier and newer green Volvo, she cut the engine and went right inside the house. The walk was a short one, but Blyth cursed the recent strange events all the way from her vehicle to the front door. She bent down to take off her work shoes, and that's when Blythe realized her aunt had company. And the company was a lady with green skin and an odd purple hairdo.

"Sorry, I didn't realize we had company." Blythe said by way of apology while staring at the strange woman. She was taken aback by her aunt's visitor's appearance. Who wouldn't be? It was a woman who looked like The Wicked Witch of the West's double sitting on her bright blue rocking chair sipping tea. She was even wearing an outfit straight from _Wicked_ which could have made her Elphaba's second sister. All the woman needed to do now was start singing. The hair could be explained away as a bad dye job, but skin just didn't turn green unless you were a frog. And the clothes, well she _was_ an adult; maybe she was helping out at some heritage exhibition for the summer.

"Can I help you?" The woman asked breaking into Blythe's thoughts. The tone wasn't rude, just curious as to why she was being stared at.

"Sorry." She went back to removing her sneakers, this time more to save herself some embarrassment instead of trying to save her aunt's new floor.

"This is a surprise visit; Minerva Griffin is a friend from out of town." Her aunt Renee replied with a hint of a smile playing on her lips. "Why are you home so early? I thought your shift didn't end until four, and it's only one."

Blythe shook her head and sighed. "My manager for the day decided to start my mandatory holiday early because a box I was reaching for somehow dropped on Elaina." She confessed as she sank into the floral print sofa next to her aunt.

"Daniel's girlfriend, Elaina?" Renee asked wrinkling her narrow nose, a feature Blythe had thankfully avoided inheriting although she did share her aunt's hazel eyes and sandy brown hair. The nose set them apart; it was her mother's nose after all even if it was a little crooked.

"The exact same one, only she _won't_ be his girlfriend for too much longer. That little witch is sneaking around on him!" Blythe's voice rose a few octaves as she told her aunt the news.

"I wasn't too fond of her anyway." Renee confessed. "Always saying one thing then doing something else. Elaina Martin always blew whichever way was easiest."

"I know, but should I text Daniel? Should I even admit I know? Maybe I should get Tegan to do it, except she's…." Then, realizing that the other woman was sitting on her aunt's recliner watching the two of them intently, she blushed.

"Sorry again, my aunt and I gossip a _lot_."

"That's fine." The plum haired woman replied smoothly. "Now, speaking of witches, Renee, should you tell her or shall I?"

"I think it would be better if she heard it from me." Renee answered, turning to Blythe she smiled again. "Bly, you know how you've been having these strange occurrences lately?"

Blythe nodded. "How can I forget? It's not every day you keep making sneakers sail at people's heads."

"And I'm guessing that box didn't just drop on Elaina by itself."

"I never touched it. But I wouldn't…."

"Not consciously you wouldn't," Renee interrupted, "But if you were a magical being who had the power to move things with her mind you could do it."

"If I could move things with my mind, I would have dropped the till on Elaina's head, not those Canucks jerseys." Blythe muttered darkly. "She is being a two timing sneaky whor… horrible person."

"I see your niece has a touch of the devious and is loyal. Those are excellent traits for a witch." Minerva Griffin announced happily. "Blythe, how would you like to start school early in another dimension? Cloud Tower is the perfect place for you."

"You're kidding right? A school in another dimension, I stopped believing in that when I stopped believing in Santa."

"Bly, she's not joking. This is a high honour; Cloud Tower is an elite school of witchcraft in the Magical Dimension." Aunt Renee argued.

"I'm sure it is, but I don't want to go play pretend. Besides wouldn't I have to _be_ a witch to _attend_ a witch school?"

"Well, here's the thing; you _are_ a witch. Well, at least the descendant of one. Your mom attended Cloud Tower as well."

"You said my mom attended Salmon Arm Secondary with that guy in the library." Blythe shot back.

"I doctored a few yearbooks so it would look like you were a normal Earth girl." Renee shrugged as if it was a minor detail. "It was for the best at the time. I had no idea when your powers would manifest, or at all. And I had no idea how you would take to being told you aren't even from Earth.

When the signs appeared, I contacted Minerva since she's the Headmistress of Cloud Tower. I'm sorry I never told you before, but Ms. Griffin can teach you how to control your witch powers and hone them better than me." Renee stopped to take a breath and looked beseechingly at her niece.

"I never meant to keep all of this from you if that's what you're thinking. It's just really hard to find the right time to tell someone that they're from a planet they've never heard of and they're a witch besides."

Slowly Blythe turned and looked at her aunt. "You kept who I really was from me for _sixteen years_." She replied acidly as her voice picked up tempo. "And the only reason you decided to tell me that I was a _witch_ of all things is because I started making things drop and explode!"

"Again, I felt it was for the best. I know I should have told you sooner and I'm sorry, but at least you get to go to a school to help you harness your powers."

"And now you want me to go away to a magical school run by a woman who looks like she had a rough night on a houseboat? After being told that I'm a witch and from another planet you're sending me away."

Renee sighed; this was _not_ how she'd planned the conversation with Blythe to go. She had hoped that her niece would only be mildly shocked, but agree to go anyway. Renee hadn't planned for the temper explosion, which was reminiscent of the one her sister Regina had after finding out Queen Luna was banishing her from Solaria when she found out about the affair. Renee should have guessed Blythe wouldn't take this calmly.

"That's not the case at all." Renee argued back after waiting for Blythe to add anything else. "You're always saying that you want to learn more about your mom and our family, right?"

Blythe nodded not trusting herself to speak; she was still too upset about yet another family secret being kept from her. For all she knew she had some strange half-siblings raised on that supposed planet she was from. She searched around the room trying to find something to focus her attention on so she wouldn't have to look at her aunt or this Ms Minerva Griffin. Blythe's eyes rested on the strange jewelry box which had always sat on the mantle. The design was very intricate with a gold sun and silver moon intertwined on the lid and Blythe knew that despite its size the only jewelry in the box was a silver necklace with a locket. The design on the locket was a sun with yellow topaz stones around it. Blythe could never decide if she found the locket gauche or exotic, and her aunt never told her where either the box or the necklace came from.

"Blythe, I asked you a question." Her aunt said, nudging Blyth out of her thoughts. "I said, you know how you're always asking about your mom and our family?"

"What do you expect?" She asked glowering at her aunt, "You've kept too many secrets from me. The important ones at least."

"I'll tell you what, if you agree to go to Cloud Tower even just for a semester, I will give you that jewelry box and the necklace." Renee wheedled.

"How will that help me learn about my mom?"

"There are books in the Cloud Tower library that can help." Ms Griffin spoke up helpfully. "Some can only be opened with special magical objects from the realms whose history they hold."

"Yeah, that makes so much sense." Blythe replied forcing herself not to roll her eyes, and then she looked straight at her aunt. "So you're blackmailing me to go to this school?"

"Call it what you wish," Renee answered stoically, "but you do have to go to school soon and you said you weren't feeling challenged enough last year."

Blythe thought about that, SAS was a good school and she liked most of her teachers. But even with the advanced classes for English, math and science she felt something was lacking. She had originally blamed it on being moved ahead two grades and most of her friends being a year or two older than her. However, now that her aunt had dropped the bomb about her being a witch, Blythe now wondered if it could be because she was a magical being. That idea was quickly dropped because she doubted that people with magical powers were automatically better at basic school subjects. Blythe even doubted that the students at this school she was just now hearing about could even handle her course work.

"Are you saying that you believe I could be challenged more at Cloud Tower?" Blythe asked curiously. "Are the courses harder?"

"Just different." Ms Griffin replied. "They may seem harder to you because you've lived on Earth your whole life, so you haven't learned anything about magic or spells. I feel that this curriculum would be to your liking though."

"So are you willing to go or not?" Renee asked looking her niece in the eye.

"I guess," Blyth answered sounding resigned, "but before I go pack just tell me one thing."

"What is it?" Renee asked sounding suspicious.

"Why can't you just let me stay here and you can teach me about my powers since you _obviously_ know a bit about magic and the magical dimension. Seeing as you and my mom were born there and you told me those yearbooks were magically tampered. You are _not_ exactly what I'd call computer savvy."

Renee had the decency to blush. "Guilty as charged. Blythe I am sorry about lying to you really. But I'm a fairy, I attended the fairy school in Magix. You wouldn't want me to teach you."

"Are you sure?"

Ms Griffin snickered at the question and replied, "She's sure, alright. Renee DiLune wouldn't know the first thing about teaching a witch how to control her magic."

_**To Be Continued…**_

**Well, that's done and over. I finally started a new chapter for the third time and I hope that this one goes better than my other two attempts. I feel that adding a character raised in Canada instead of the US would make a nice change. So read and give me some honest feedback.**


	2. Misery Loves Uninvited Guests

**Life Less Ordinary **

**Disclaimer: Winx Club is owned by a lot of people who aren't me including RAI and Viacom. I also don't own Xbox or Xbox Live- that's owned by Microsoft. Halo Reach is owned by Bungee and 343 Games. **

**Dedication: Rogue Scholar, my Winx Club partner in crime, and my Beta Robert Teague for making me do the rough draft over.**

**Chapter Two: Misery Loves Uninvited Guests**

Blythe groaned as she lugged her suitcase into her new dorm room and flung it on the deep red comforter. She had no idea why her aunt Renee had packed the jewelry box along with an old inter-realm phone she'd had laying around in the cedar chest she'd bought at the church thrift shop in town. Blythe also had no idea about her new roommate except that her name was Emer and she was from Andros- whatever and whereever that was. In fairness she admitted that that Emer would have no idea about her either, but she knew the girl wouldn't think to ask if she drove a dog sled or lived in an igloo as some people on Xbox Live did from time to time. Blythe had once told someone from Australia that she had to go replace the penguin that was running the generator for her igloo after a game of Halo Reach and the guy _believed_ her.

Blythe had tucked away her last t-shirt and placed her mother's jewelry box on top of her dresser when there was a knock- or more accurately a kick- on the door jamb. She turned to see a short tan-skinned girl with aqua hair pulled into buns on either side of her head and adorned with seahorse barrettes. In each hand she held a bulging duffle bag and she wore a handmade quilt with blocks of blue fabric around her shoulders like a shawl which dragged on the hardwood floor of the dorm. In short she looked slightly overwhelmed.

Blythe stopped her observation and went over to the new girl. "Let me help you with that." She offered.

The aqua-haired girl smiled tentatively and slowly handed over one of the bags. "Uh…thanks." She smiled again, a real smile this time which lit up her turquoise eyes. "My dad tends to overpack and then my mom insisted I take the quilt that she made me when I was in primary school."

While explaining about the quilt, the girl flipped it off of her shoulders and quickly spread it on the other twin bed. "It really brightens up the place. I'm Emer from Andros by the way."

"Blythe De Lune from Canada." Blythe replied reaching out to shake Emer's hand. "Nice to meet you, and you're right; this place needs some brightening up."

"Canada? What planet is that?" Emer asked sounding curious and confused at once as she began to unpack. Blythe could see that Emer favoured ocean colours because nearly everything she unpacked was in various shades of blue and green, much like the quilt on her bed. She was even wearing a sheer blouse which changed from indigo, to sky blue and then teal whenever she moved over a pale blue spaghetti-strap top that went nicely with her white shorts.

"Beg pardon?" Blythe asked politely as she could.

"Where is Canada?" Emer repeated, never pausing from her unpacking. "I've never heard of that planet before. Do they have a lot of water?"

Blythe relaxed and chuckled. "You could say that, but Canada _isn't_ a planet. It's a country in North America. I'm from Earth and I lived in the province of British Columbia before I was sent here."

"_Another_ Earth girl?" Drawled a new voice. "There is just an influx of you now, isn't there?"

Emer and Blythe turned to see a girl with long jet black hair and bright green eyes wearing an expensive looking yellow knee length dress and white heeled sandals. She sauntered into their room as if she owned the entire building and sat right on Emer's bed running her hand over the quilt.

"Quaint, very quaint." The girl commented airily. "You can even tell it's handmade. How adorable."

Blythe and Emer were far from amused. Blythe was about to put the intruder in her place, but Emer beat her to it.

"And you _are_?" The aqua haired girl asked as her turquoise eyes glittering with anger. "I don't recall inviting you in here."

The onyx haired girl had the decency to look taken aback. "Oh I'm sorry; I assumed you'd seen my name plate on the single dorm and knew who I was." She gestured towards herself. "I'm Starla, the Second Princess of Splendora, and I'm one of your new suite mates."

"My aunt says when you assume something you make an ass out of you and me." Blythe told Starla icily.

"Starla has the power of foot in mouth syndrome." Explained another girl, coming in. This one had pale blonde hair and slate grey eyes. She was dressed a lot more casually than Starla in bright red skinny jeans and a vintage band t-shirt.

"I'm Lilith from Solaria, by the way. Star and I know each other from sleep-away magic camp." The blonde grinned at the Splendoran princess. "Don't we, Star?"

Starla stuck her tongue out at Lilith and instantly looked a lot less self assured and intimidating than she had when she'd tried to make herself at home on Emer's bed. Blythe felt she looked almost likeable.

"I can't be faulted for trying to help you with your wardrobe." Starla argued. "It was atrocious."

"One of Starla's spells set my clothes on fire!" Lilith exclaimed gleefully. "She needed _me_ to put them out for her! And for whatever reason the camp counselors kept making us bunk mates for three summers in a row! And _now_ here she is sharing a dorm with me, the ruddy stalker!"

Blythe and Emer giggled at Starla's evident outrage.

"I couldn't help that my parents couldn't convince the owners of the camp to give me a private cabin, so I kept ending up with _you_."

"Star, your sister was one of the counselors. I heard her say your parents thought it was best for you to get along better with others."

"Whatever, Pippa is a shameless kiss-up. That's why she's a fairy as well as the crown princess." Starla groused. "Anyway, Lilith and I introduced ourselves. Now who are you two?"

Blythe and Emer looked at each other shocked.

"Didn't you read the name plate?" Emer asked as she stuffed her duffle bags in the bottom drawer of her dresser.

"_I_ did." Lilith replied, "I just don't know which one of you is which."

"Fair enough, I'm Emer from Andros."

"And I'm Blythe from Canada." Blythe put in with a smile. "Which is actually just a country on Earth."

"So you don't know Sapphire Cole? Because she's from Earth too, or Bloom for that matter." Starla asked, curious.

"No I just got here. Earth is a large planet. Just because someone is from there doesn't mean I know them." Blythe explained.

"All these introductions have made me antsy." interrupted Lilith. "What do you say we find my new roommate at the general assembly then head out to town for some junk food?"

"I'd like that." Emer replied as Blythe nodded her agreement. "Maybe we can check out the shops too," she added.

"Ooh, who do you have as a roommate, Lili?" Starla asked, being her usual nosey self. "Anyone I might care about?"

"Aradia from Callisto." Lilith answered. "I checked the name plate when I got here. I don't believe I've heard of her, though she does seem polite. She left me a note saying that she had some business to tend in the library and would try to meet me later."

"How would she meet you if she doesn't know what you look like?" Emer wondered.

"Good point. By the way what time is the assembly?" Blythe asked glancing at her watch.

"Oh about a quarter to…" Lilith trailed off as she caught sight of the large digital alarm clock on Emer's nightstand. "Now!"

"Don't worry, I have a spell for that." Starla offered," having a perfectionist fairy as an older sister does have its perks. Transportus!"

The quartet was immediately just outside the auditorium with moments to spare.

_**Afterwards.**_

"Well _that_ was certainly a waste of a perfectly good transport spell." Starla groused as she sprawled on a deep red sofa. She and the other three girls were lounging in the suite's common room still waiting for Lilith's truant roommate Aradia to show herself.

"I know," agreed Lilith as she repeatedly braided and unbraided a piece of her pale blonde hair, "With the exception of seeing two girls I was in grade 7 with and the dance, that assembly could have been emailed to everyone to save on boredom."

"That dance at Alfea is in _two_ weeks though. That's hardly enough time for me to find something in my size." Emer sighed.

"Don't worry; I'll help you with that." Offered Starla.

"Am I in the right place?" a new voice asked. "Everyone sounds cheerful in here, so I hope one of you is my roommate." All eyes turned to see a dark haired brunette with her hair in a high ponytail wearing a khaki knee length skirt and a floral tank top with clear sequins over it. "I'm Aradia by the way, is one of you Lilith?"

Lilith raised her hand. "That would be me."

"Oh good. I'm sorry I didn't meet you earlier but I had to run over to Red Fountain to check in with my older, over-protective, pain-in-the-ass brother. And, well, he wound up talking too damn much." Aradia blew out an exasperated breath and blushed. "I'm sorry; I started ranting and you all were talking about going somewhere."

"Yes, and you should come with us." Starla said not so much suggesting as demanding looking Aradia up and down- sizing up the other girl's fashion sense. "If we only have two weeks to prove to those Alfea girls that witches do have style, we'd better get on task."

"Just as long as we can get food too." Lilith stated, "As I said before I am _starving_."

"Agreed." Replied Blythe. She didn't remember eating lunch, and breakfast had been a hurried ordeal back at her aunt's house because Renee was worried about the portal not staying open long enough to get the bags through. Her stomach growled its consent. "Let's see what Magix has to offer."

_**To be continued…**_

**I guess I'm just inspired. Either that or the intro chapters come easy because I've done this so many times before. I would like to thank everyone for their nice reviews- I hope this chapter was enjoyable.**


	3. Five for Fighting

**Life Less Ordinary **

** Disclaimer: Winx Club is owned by a lot of people who aren't me, including RAI and Viacom. I do own Mad Cow- have for years, but I borrowed Mystics from Rogue as well. I don't own Zellers; they're a slowly closing department store in Canada owned by the Hudson Bay Company. I don't own Target either, but I kinda wish I did because they have Winx Club dolls.**

** Dedication: Rogue Scholar, my Winx Club partner in crime, and my Beta Robert Teague for checking to make sure everything makes sense.**

**Chapter Three: Five for Fighting**

As a child blissfully unaware of her family heritage, Blythe would read fairy stories, so she was rather disappointed when she and her suitemates got off the shuttle and there were no jewel-encrusted sidewalks or chocolate fountains. There were, however, hover vehicles whose drivers magically created parking spaces, something Blythe was sure would be extremely useful if she ever got back home and went on holiday in Vancouver.

After an uneventful early dinner at an oddly named place called Mad Cow, the girls wandered over towards the unofficial fairy side of Magix at Starla's insistence. Lilith staged a not-so-silent protest during the entire walk. Blythe stayed out of it because her home town was too small for Target to come and replace Zellers, let alone have separate shopping areas for separate schools. Emer and Aradia excitedly discussed the advanced classes they had signed up for, including a few second year classes, wisely staying out of the whole ordeal as well. This left Starla to fend for herself.

"We're _witches_." Lilith pointed out for the fifth time as they entered a dress shop simply called Papillion- French for butterfly. "Can't we go to Mystics instead?"

"Yes, tomorrow on your _own_ time," sighed Starla while dramatically rubbing her temples, the onyx-haired witch was obviously growing tired of Lilith's kvetching. "But just because we're witches, it doesn't mean we have to dress the part. I'm a princess and I am damn well going to dress like one."

"Are you saying that witches don't have a sense of style?" Aradia piped up, breaking away from Emer as they entered the boutique. Lilith pretended to faint from all the pink and baby blue, staggering into Blythe causing everyone but Starla to giggle.

"Not an elegant style," Starla stated, prudently ignoring the blonde witch's antics. She quickly headed over towards a mannequin decked out in a glittering butter-yellow evening gown, "You wouldn't see this on our side of town."

"You wouldn't find that_ in_ my town, period." Blythe added, joining Starla at the dresses. "When I wanted a dress for the winter formal, my aunt and I had to drive two hours to even start looking."

The sandy haired girl picked up one dress, then checked the price tag. Eyes wide she looked over at Starla, "Please tell me these include sales tax." She choked out.

"This is exactly why I had suggested consignment stores." Lilith stated with authority and giving the Splendoran princess a stern glare. "Not everyone has our family funds, Starla." Her mother being a member of parliament and her father being a diplomat who regularly represented Solaria on Splendora, Lilith's family was relatively well off and didn't worry about money. However she did know very well that many people did have to shop on a budget- a dirty word in Starla's dictionary- thanks to her parents, Lilith was on a shopping budget herself to prepare her for the real world.

Emer nodded her agreement, her family wasn't as well-off as Lilith's, but her mom and dad made good money as researchers at a medical lab and selling medical equipment respectively. The prices in the Papillion, though, would set her allowance back by five months unless she could find a good deal, or a fixer up dress (she was good at sewing).

"I'm sure there's a sales rack in here somewhere," the aqua-haired witch from Andros finally suggested helpfully.

"Yes, back in the section of town where you people belong," snapped a new girl. She had dark brown hair that fell in soft waves down her back, and wore a deep violet off-the-shoulder top with a silver sequined three tiered mini skirt. Blythe supposed she could be considered pretty, but her hazel eyes were narrowed at the five first-years, marring her otherwise perfect features.

The two girls with her looked like negative transfers of each other; one had dark blue hair and silver eyes and was wearing a minidress with a silver and white geometric pattern. The other had shorter platinum blonde hair and wore a belly-bearing red mock-turtleneck tank top and black pleather cigarette pants.

The platinum blonde took one look at Blythe's distressed jeans and red 'Everyone Loves a Canadian girl' t-shirt and smirked. "I'd try the thrift stores if I were you, since I doubt most of you could even afford consignment shop prices."

Starla whirled at the sound of the other girl's comment and gave the brunette an icy smile. She knew who the new girl and her friends were. Rochelle was the princess of the realm of Geos by the sheer luck of her parents being the last living relatives of a now-dead king; and her lackeys Jinx and Chance from Cosmosis were middle-of-the-road nobility. All three girls were third years at Alfea, but none of them had gained their Enchantix . However they still thought highly of themselves, and none of them would think twice of attacking anyone who they felt didn't know her place. Unfortunately for Rochelle and her friends, Starla was a princess of the blood royal whose parents had inherited their throne directly from her mother's father and in Starla's world her place was above everyone.

"Rochelle, I didn't hear _you_ slither in," Starla chirped with fake politeness. "How charming to run into you and your darling friends. I gather that means you've been allowed to return to Alfea."

Rochelle nodded, looking skeptically at Starla, waiting for the Splendoran princess to continue.

"How much money was taken from the Geosian treasury to fund the bribes?"

The effect of Starla's comment was felt immediately, Jinx and Chance shrieked in unison while Starla's group giggled.

Rochelle growled low in her throat, but quickly regained her composure. "Yes, and I hear you're at Cloud Tower this year. I guess living in your older sister's shadow finally got the better of you."

Starla's fake yet frosty smile never faltered, but Rochelle could tell she had hit her mark and she smirked triumphantly.

"Go play in traffic, Rochelle." Lilith snapped, staring down the older girl; she'd known Starla long enough to know that, while she did feel that she was always being compared to Pippa, she would never let on about it. Turning to the others she said. "Come on ladies, let's find a less crowded area to shop in; this one stinks."

"I don't believe you understood me. Witches _aren't allowed_ to shop in fairy stores." Rochelle said as if talking to a group of three year olds.

"Yeah, so leave or else." Jinx added grinning maliciously.

"Oh give me a break!" Blythe exclaimed throwing up her hands in disgust. "There are more than enough shops here, I've never heard of anything so absurd. Segregation is extremely last century and we will shop anywhere we wish."

"The badly dressed fishy has a mouth on her." Chance commented, "I wonder if she has the magic to go with it."

Blythe wondered the same thing; she had just come to Magix this morning after a life of not knowing anything about her past. While she could guess what her powers were it was beyond her comprehension how to control them in the slightest and she didn't see any way of getting into the stock room and dropping a supply of shoes on Rochelle's head. Blythe could see her friends were uncertain as well, however she had the feeling none of them were willing to let on she was a complete novice when it came to using magic.

"I guess you'll just have to find out, won't you?" Blythe retorted with more confidence than she felt. 'But hey, maybe Rochelle and her group would be total pushovers.' She thought.

"No fighting in the store please," said the sales lady who had been nervously watching the scene unfold before her eyes. It was an hour to closing time and she wanted to end her shift with minimal property damage, to say nothing of bloodshed.

"Mind your own business, peasant," Jinx snapped as she sent an energy attack at the unfortunate woman.

Blythe's eyes widened in shock as the woman dove behind the register and Emer jumped to the rescue with a deflective attack of her own. 'Well there goes _that _idea' Blythe thought worried that someone would come for her next, and wondering if she could control her powers- whatever they were.

"You'll pay for that." Growled Jinx, narrowing her steely eyes at Emer. The older fairy was obviously upset that she had been upstaged by a witch, and a first year at that.

"Sorry, I don't give charity to third year, fifth-rate fairies" Emer retorted with a grin that threatened to crack her face.

"And _I_ don't get defeated by _sixth_-rate witches." Rochelle shot back angrily it was clear the brunette was losing her temper. "Jinx, Chance it's time to show these pests what happens to witches who don't stay where they belong."

Blythe watched nervously as the fairy trio began to glow as they powered up in a joint effort to teach them a lesson. Her companions, however, seemed unbothered by their adversaries' new plan. In fact the other girls seemed ready for the challenge. Especially when Aradia, who had been quiet through most of the altercation looked at the three magically raised witches and nodded.

"Let's see what you've got." Aradia challenged after some form of understanding passed between the other four girls. Blythe was understandably just to stand by and watch. The others weren't going to give away that she had no idea what she was doing. However the fact that Blythe didn't have the slightest idea how to use her powers was still obvious, and Rochelle and her group decided to use that to their advantage.

"You two get her," Rochelle whispered giving an imperceptible nod at Blythe, "I'll take care of the other losers."

Jinx and Chance nodded and began chanting their joint attack in unison.

Before Blythe's companions could register what was happening Jinx and Chance sent a convergence attack straight at the Earth girl. Blythe's reflexes kicked in and she instinctively threw her arms up to shield herself from the barrage, in her shock she'd triggered a defensive attack of her own. A greenish yellow flash of energy came from Blythe's palms, and the force sent all three girls flying backwards. Blythe was caught by Emer and Aradia, and the entire episode had happened before they or Rochelle had a chance to use their own magic. Chance and Jinx, on the other hand, had fallen one on top of the other, and were given a look that could kill by Rochelle.

"Pick yourselves up and let's get out of here," Rochelle snapped, "As for you, don't think this is the last time you've seen us. And the next time you _won't _be as lucky."

"Oh, Rochelle don't forget that, unlike you I was _born_ to be a princess, and my friends and I go _whereever_ we wish." Starla called out as Rochelle and her friends rushed out the door.

The sales lady, after everything was cleared up, was extremely helpful, even to the point of offering the girls the VIP treatment. However even VIP treatment wasn't enough for Blythe to be able to afford more than one shoe in Papillion and everyone except Starla left empty handed. The onyx-haired girl had bought the dress the mannequin was wearing along with the shoes and tiara to match.

"I knew we should have tried Mystics," Lilith stated later as they rode the shuttle back to Cloud Tower.

"We can try that after classes," Emer suggested, "I was going to check out the fabric stores anyway and find a pattern to make a dress myself."

As Lilith and Emer began to talk about Emer's sewing and the wonders of thrift stores, Blythe just stared out the window. She had been pretending to listen to Starla blather on about her dress and the thousands of dresses in her closet back at the school that she could borrow if she couldn't find something in her price range. But now she was feeling her ADD kick in and couldn't pretend anymore, so she didn't hear Aradia sit next to her,

"Hey Blythe, where did you learn to do a defense spell like that?" the auburn-haired witch asked with undisguised curiosity. "It was really something else."

Blythe turned away from the window, "I didn't learn, I just did it," She admitted, "I didn't even know I was a witch until yesterday so I don't know how to _do_ anything. What you saw back in the store was purely the reflexes of someone who didn't want to be annihilated."

"That's the thing though, a witch doesn't need to know how to do magic, she just does it." Starla explained. "You just go to school to control how and when you do your magic."

"Thanks for the insight Starla, I think." Blythe replied sounding confused.

"And that's why we don't let you teach classes." Lilith teased. "You'd have your magical theory class spinning in circles within a week."

The laughter continued until the girls departed the shuttle and headed to their rooms.

_**To be continued…**_

** Sorry for the delay, my older daughter just started school last week and this week I have 2 days of swim classes plus my horseback riding lessons and a story group. But I hope you enjoyed the story.**


	4. These Things I Know

**Life Less Ordinary**

**Note: ****Sorry for the delay, my older daughter is in school, my younger daughter is getting clingy and everyone kept getting sick. I needed time to recharge my creative batteries, thanks for waiting.**

**Disclaimer:**** I own a few Winx Club dolls and some DVDs- even a Winx Club microphone, but I don't own the rights to the show. Those rights belong to a lot of people who aren't me including RAI and Viacom.**

**Dedication:**** Rogue Scholar my Winx Club partner in crime and my Beta Robert Teague for checking to make sure everything looks pretty.**

**Chapter Four: These Things I Know**

The next day Blythe and Emer were late waking up for breakfast because both of them had assumed the other girl had set her alarm. After rushing around to get dressed and grab their school supplies they found their suitemates in the cafeteria eating their food, and after getting their own trays of dehydrated eggs and oven baked sausage went to join them. Starla was already chatting away about who she knew and pointing some of them out to Lilith and Aradia.

"There's the other girl from Earth," Starla stage whispered as she gestured with her plastic fork towards a girl with pale skin and dark blue hair. Blythe sat down with a plate of sausage and scrambled eggs and followed the fork. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary with the girl other than her hair, from what Blythe could see.

"What's her name?" Emer asked casually as she uncapped her orange juice and took a sip.

"Sapphire Cole," Starla answered while delicately spearing a piece of sausage with her fork, she took a bite and continued her gossip. "Rumour has it she's the daughter of this powerful witch from my realm, but Mother doesn't like talking about it because it's quite the scandal. My governess said it was an affair with some high ranking nobleman, but that's as much as she'd tell me, the old bat. I've also heard she has to marry this dreadful boy Rubius who has a minor connection to nobility on _my_ planet. Personally, with his reputation, I wouldn't marry him if he were the sole heir to the throne, and if she wants a way to get out of that marriage I'm sure I could pull some strings."

Aradia sighed and shook her head while Lilith giggled, Starla was a gossip and second in line to the throne of Splendora after her sister, but both girls doubted she had the clout to stop an arranged marriage. However they also knew it wouldn't stop Starla from trying if she thought she could get away with it.

"They still do arranged marriages in this realm?" Blythe gasped, dropping her plastic knife into her tea cup. "No wonder my aunt didn't want to tell me where I was from. For all I know my mom was escaping from an arranged marriage too."

"Oh don't be so melodramatic," Emer scolded gently as she placed a hand on Blythe's shoulder. "Only certain planets such as Andros and Eraklyon as well as certain families still do arranged marriages. Other kingdoms see them as things of the past. King Radius of Solaria banned them after his coronation, and they say Princess Stella is dating a squire."

"Part of _that_ is because he's prince Sky's best friend and squire, and they switched names to protect the prince from some organization that is out to kill him." Lilith put in; she'd heard the story from Starla's older sister, Pippa, last year after the Trix had tried to take over the magic dimension. She had been at the Day of the Royals and saw Bloom and Diaspro go hand to hand.

"Maybe a fairy could accept it, but there is no way a witch would accept someone lying to her about being engaged no matter what the reason." Aradia put in disdainfully, just as the bell rang signaling the end of breakfast. "If I were Bloom, I'd turn Sky into something not so charming and insist he grovel in public before I changed him back."

"Oh, Prince Sky, that boy needs some help with his hair." Starla scoffed as the five of them picked up their trays and headed to first period classes. "The palace of Eraklyon needs to fire that royal barber of theirs and hire someone from either Solaria or that Canada place you came from Blythe, because despite being from Earth, your hair looks good."

Blythe just nodded, unsure whether or not to accept Starla's slightly backhanded compliment. She dropped her tray by the kitchen window and followed Emer to their first period class; Potionology with professor Bittersmoke.

Professor Bittersmoke was an ancient looking man who seemed that he would be better off auditioning for the part of Ebenezer Scrooge in a local production of _A Christmas Carol_ than teaching about potions. However, despite his physical appearance, professor Bittersmoke was an energetic teacher and Blythe had to struggle to keep up with his class.

The rest of the morning fell into the same routine; rush to class, rush to keep up with teachers and students who had been doing these things with magic since way before she'd even started studying to get her 'L' license, which she really should have kept longer if she wanted a lower insurance rate through the provincial insurance company

Blythe had that thought during Incantations, which was after lunch, 'Maybe I can learn a spell that will convince them to lower my rates and give my car a barrier.' Then she giggled at the thought of going to the insurance office back home and threatening to change everyone to toads unless they reduced everyone in the entire province's rates. Since Blythe had been daydreaming she didn't realize that Professor Grimm had mispronounced one word in a spell she was explaining to the class.

"I'm glad that my mix up on the first day of school amused you, Ms Di Lune." The professor said in a tone that could freeze lava. "Perhaps, since you're so advanced, you'd like to start your school year off by writing me a five page report on the history of ancient languages and their role in modern incantations, hmm?"

Blythe had thought she was going to die right there on the spot, so she merely nodded her head.

"Good girl, it's due next week." Professor Grimm then turned her attention to the rest of the class and began lecturing about proper pronunciation of words and the catastrophes that could occur if they weren't correct.

The end of classes couldn't come soon enough. As soon as the final bell rang Blythe raced up to her room to get started on her homework. The first thing she wanted to do was find out if anyone had access to chocolate so she could have a sugar high large enough to forget about the entire terrible ordeal that was the first day of boarding school. However, before Blythe could even try to figure out a spell to make a proper Nanaimo Bar, Emer and Aradia came crashing into the room carrying their books.

"Oh good, you're here already." Emer greeted her. The aqua haired witch shared the dorm with Blythe as well as that unfortunate Incantations class. "Do you feel like taking a ride over to Red Fountain with us to take your mind off of the first day of classes?"

"Anakin is insisting I check in with him personally this afternoon." Aradia sighed dramatically. She'd mentioned her twin brother during the lunch break after he'd texted her ten times, hardly giving Aradia time to finish her mystery meatloaf and the dinner roll, which had a remarkable resemblance to Styrofoam. "I have to prove to him I haven't joined the dark side."

Emer shot Aradia a sympathetic look that said simply '_brothers_', then looked expectantly at Blythe. "So, do you want to come along?"

"And miss out on starting that paper for Professor Grimm?" Blythe asked in mock horror, but with a big grin on her face. "You betcha... What is Red Fountain again?"

" That's the boys' school, where they go to learn to be heroic and also learn a little magic." Emer explained, hoping to jog her roommate's memory. There had been a hurried explanation of the school systems in Magix during lunch, but that knowledge had obviously been replaced by spells, potions, magical history and the ever-popular incantations.

"Yeah, the super hero academy, I remember now. Starla went on for ten minutes about the ghastly uniforms and how someone should hire this Zenithian designer to repair the problem before commenting about how charmingly ornate my necklace looks with my blouse."

"So then you _are_ coming? Good, because we have to leave before Anakin sets my phone on fire with his damned texts!" Aradia stated as she quickly ushered her new found support system against Anakin's constant guardianship towards the door, hardly allowing the other girls time to pick up their bags.

Fifteen minutes later the trio departed the shuttle on the well-groomed grounds of Red Fountain's main courtyard.

"I have to meet him in the bloody common room of his bloody dorm suite. Bloody hell!" Aradia cursed, stomping off in the direction of Red Fountain's entrance leaving her friends to trail in her wake. "You two don't have to follow me if you don't want to, Ani can be quite the pain-in-the-ass interrogator." Her phone began to trill as if to emphasize Aradia's statement.

"I'll come for moral support," Emer offered, causing Aradia to beam with gratitude. If there was one thing she understood it was pushy, overbearing siblings; she had three of them. Emer felt it was only a matter of time before her mom or dad called Cerridwen over at Alfea and asked her to check in on 'Little Em'. She hoped Aradia would be willing to return the favor when it was needed.

"I'll try to find the library if you two don't mind." Blythe replied cautiously, she was in no hurry to meet Aradia's nosey twin brother, he sounded like a total cow- that is if boys could be cows.

I don't have siblings or even cousins that I'm aware of, so I'd just be out of place. Besides, I have that stupid paper due next week."

"Well, Red Fountain has a very useful library." Aradia called out as she started to head in the direction of the elevators with Emer in tow, "I'm sure you'll find what you need."

"Good luck." Emer added, just as the door closed and Aradia began kicking the elevator wall in frustration.

"Yeah, now if only I could find that 'useful library'." Blythe muttered finding herself suddenly alone and without any idea of how to get where she needed to go. The main entrance hall to the school didn't even have one of those 'you are here' directories for her searching convenience. All Blythe could do now was wander and hope that she would find someone who could help her, so she chose a direction and started walking, hoping for the best.

After ten minutes of waning hope, Blythe found a couple of boys standing around in front of what she guessed was the school cafeteria and tapped the brunette one on the shoulder.

"Yes, can I help you?" The brunette boy asked politely.

Blythe felt her face grow hot and swallowed a few times before she could find her voice. It wasn't that she hadn't seen good looking guys back in Salmon Arm, it was just that none of them had been that handsome, his chin on its own was a work of art to say nothing of his deep velvet eyes. Blythe shook herself to clear her head. "Sorry, I forgot myself for a second."

"That's okay, I have that effect on women." The brunette grinned as his cherry haired friend laughed at that comment. "What did you need?"

'Ah, so they still make them conceited in the magic dimension.' Blythe thought to herself, the feeling of infatuation began to evaporate. "Heh, anyway I was looking for the library. A friend of mine said that you have a good one here at your super hero..." She stopped and corrected herself, "I mean here at Red Fountain."

"As if Brandon knows what a library is for." The cherry haired boy joked, earning himself a head smack from Brandon. "You'd be better off looking for the student directory."

"They must have removed it before I got here, so can you help me?" Blythe briefly considered fluttering her eyelashes or talking in a more come hither tone, as she'd seen some of the more popular girls do to get what they wanted from a boy. However she wasn't a flirt and she found that whole ordeal ridiculous and any boy who found that attractive wasn't worth her time even as a guide.

"I'll take you there myself." Brandon replied taking Blythe's hand in his. "It's the least I could do for such a beautiful young lady."

Blythe fought against rolling her eyes at Brandon or shoving him down a flight of stairs. He may have been good looking, but he was also cheesy.

"You mean to tell me _you_ know where the library is?" Cherry hair quipped in disbelief. "Last year Timmy had to borrow _and_ return your books because you couldn't find it."

"Riven, don't you have a date to get ready for?" Brandon asked in a falsely cheerful tone. "I believe Musa said she wouldn't tolerate you being late a third time."

"You have one as well, Brandon." Riven replied with a grin, "And I doubt Stella would enjoy seeing you walking around Red Fountain hand in hand with a strange girl. Although I dare say the rest of us would enjoy the scene for years to come."

"I can handle Stella, and I'll meet you in the quad outside of the library in fifteen minutes."

With that Riven headed presumably for the elevators leaving Blythe alone with Brandon.

"So, can we get started towards the library now?" Blythe asked breaking the silence. "I have a paper due next week for a subject I've never heard of until now and I want to get started."

"Right this way, gorgeous," Brandon replied with a mock bow, receiving a dramatic sigh and eye roll for his efforts. The brunette boy coughed nervously and led Blythe out of the main building.

"The first problem you were having with finding the library was that you were in the wrong building." He fibbed as they entered the courtyard. The main library was in fact on the second floor of the main building where the dormitories were. It was designed this way so that Red Fountain students could access it day or night. However this wasn't known to most non students. There was a smaller library on the other side of the courtyard from the main building, which is where Brandon was taking Blythe.

"Don't worry though, it's a common mistake with first years from Alfea." Brandon added as an afterthought.

"Well, I came over with two of my friends because one of them has an overprotective brother," Blythe explained, "And I'm a first year at Cloud Tower, not Alfea."

Brandon stopped in his tracks, not sure how to react. Sure the witches at Cloud Tower had helped battle against the Trix last school year, but most of them were still known to be troublemakers. On the other hand, he knew of some second and third year students like himself who had sisters who were witches and they all seemed pretty normal. The heads of Alfea and Red Fountain had made the announcement of their plans to invite the Cloud Tower students to the start of school dance as well as the dedication ceremony for the new Red Fountain school and the concert later on that year.

Sensing his apprehension, Blythe placed a hand on Brandon's shoulder. "Don't worry. Uh… My aunt went to Alfea. I had no idea I was a witch until three days ago."

"A witch who's trying to steal my boyfriend!" Stated an angry high pitched female voice.

Brandon slowly backed away and Blythe turned to see an irate looking blonde girl striding towards them, her long hair flaring out like a banner, while her friends, a red head and an Asian looking girl with short midnight blue pigtails, tried to hold her back to no avail.

"Stella, no!" The duo heard the girl with the pigtails cry out as her blonde friend broke free of her hold on her wrist. "You don't want to ruin your outfit." She tried as a last resort, but Stella was already out of listening mode and into possessive girlfriend mode.

"Just what do you think you're doing with my boyfriend?" Stella demanded, her amber eyes glaring daggers at Blythe.

"I didn't know he had a girlfriend." Blythe protested, shocked that someone would just storm up to her and start accusing her of flirting with someone's boyfriend. "He certainly didn't act like it, so if you want to blame anyone for getting too cozy with a new girl, blame your quote unquote boyfriend."

Stella didn't reply; she didn't even look up. The blonde's focus was instead on the necklace Blythe had resting on her off-white ruffled camisole top. The pendant looked familiar to Stella.

"Where did you get that?" She finally asked, looking up into Blythe's face again, her eyes full of curiosity.

"It was my mother's; my aunt gave it to me before I came here." Blythe explained shortly. This girl was obviously off her rocker. First she was screaming about flirting with her boyfriend, now she was asking about jewelry, "Gaudy, isn't it?"

"It looks like the pendant that the princess of Solaria inherits when she turns eighteen," Stella replied icily, "My father said it was lost when I was a baby!"

"Well, I have no idea where it came from. My aunt hasn't even told me what planet we're from originally. Now if you'll excuse me, I believe I've had enough of an interrogation for one day. I'm going to find my friends."

Blythe turned to walk away from Stella and Brandon which should have ended the entire confrontation. Brandon was standing right next to Stella now, which should have made it easy for him to stop his girlfriend from doing anything crazy. The key phrase, of course, is 'should have'. Instead, Stella reached out for the strap on Blythe's top almost without wanting to. She really had no idea _why_ she was angry at this girl except that she had something that Stella believed was hers.

"You're not leaving until I get answers." Stella snapped. "How do I know someone in your family didn't steal it?"

The next thing anyone saw was Blythe turning around and shoving Stella just to get her hands off of her shirt. Stella shoved back of course and then all hell broke loose with two girls on the grass screaming at each other. That's what Aradia and Emer saw as Brandon tried to drag Stella off of Blythe while Bloom and Musa tried unsuccessfully to restrain Blythe.

Aradia and Emer rushed towards the crowd of students which had gathered around to record the fight and assisted the two second year fairies in separating their friends. They had finally succeeded when Cordatorta arrived with a scowl on his face.

"And what do we have here?" The burly instructor bellowed, looking at Blythe and Stella's disheveled appearances. "Everyone back to your dorms or where ever you were heading. _You_ two, what happened?"

"She attacked me!" Blythe exclaimed. "Well, okay I shoved her, but only because this crazy girl came at me screaming about boyfriends and necklaces. I did what I did in self defense."

"Is this true, Stella?"

"She has one of the Seals of Solaria." Stella replied as if that explained everything.

"You two were fighting over a piece of _jewelry_?" Cordatorta asked incredulously.

"An _ugly _piece." Blythe put in.

"I don't care if it was hand crafted by elves, both of you are getting notes sent back to your headmistresses. I'll trust them to deal with your conduct accordingly."

"Yes sir." Stella and Blythe replied in unison.

"Good, now get going." Cordatorta walked off, muttering to himself, students passing their battle instructor could hear him say "Fighting over _jewelry._ I have never been so glad _I_ don't teach girls."

**Sorry for the long wait and the kinda bad ending. But I needed to get it done so I could move on. Thanks for reading and Happy New Year.**

**AN: I hope it doesn't seem like I'm making Brandon too OOC. In the original Italian version he seems like a bit of a flirt even if he is faithful to Stella. Check out 'The Show Must Go On' from Series two on the official English Winx Club site, Brandon flirted with two Cloud Tower students, then tried to flirt with Stormy in disguise. So to me it doesn't seem too OOC for him to flirt with another girl. **

**Stella, well she's only partially OOC in my opinion, remember the Mitzi incident from season 4? Well this story is set in season 2 so the Winx are younger and Stella still seems like she'd overreact to see Brandon with a strange new girl. Throw in something from Solaria that she believes should have been hers, and you have an all out royal tantrum.**

**Thus ends my notes.**


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